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Original Date Announced
November 19, 2025Pursuant to Executive Order 14218, the Treasury Department's General Counsel issued a memorandum affirming a 2020 decision holding that refunded portions of refundable income-tax credits, as a class, were benefits to taxpayers within the meaning of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The 2020 opinion had also held that the Earned Income Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, and American Opportunity Tax Credit are public benefits under PRWORA. The memo adds the Premium Tax Credit and Saver's Match credit to the list of credits many noncitizens may be ineligible for under PRWORA and suggests that the same may be true of other refundable individual-income-tax credits not specifically listed.
Trump 2.0 [ID #2327]
2025.11.19 Department of the Treasury General Counsel Memo - Status of the Refundable Portion of Certain Tax Credits as Federal Public BenefitsCurrent Status
NoneOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: Agency DirectiveSubject Matter:Agencies Affected: OtherAssociated or Derivative Policies
- February 19, 2025 EO 14218: "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders"
- July 14, 2025 HHS issues notice excluding undocumented immigrants from additional federal benefits
- July 16, 2025 DOJ withdraws order that exempted certain public benefits from PRWORA restrictions
- December 16, 2025 DOJ OLC reinterprets PRWORA to exclude noncitizens from more federal benefits
- February 18, 2026 DOJ OLC instructs HUD to exclude VAWA self-petitioners and Cuban or Haitian entrants from certain housing assistance
- May 28, 2026 DOJ issues memo concluding that FCC Lifeline program is subject to PRWORA
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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